UTILISATION OF RECOVERED WOOD AND RUBBER FOR ALTERNATIVE COMPOSITE PRODUCTS (WOODRUB)

Project budget:	1.838.968 €
EC financial contribution:	918.192 €
Duration:	36 months (2010-1013)
Participants:	9 partners, 5 countries

Promoting sustainable raw material management and increasing the recycling of waste wood and waste rubber are two strategic thrusts that open large domains for new technologies and innovations.

This project, in line with objectives of LIFE+ Environment Policy & Governance  aims to increase resource efficiency through the utilization of these wood and rubber wastes through the manufacturing of new products based on innovative mixed composites (wood/rubber). This new products will constitute an alternative for the utilization of other traditional and less eco-efficient products in the residential and civil construction sector.

Moreover, the project will provide a novel end of life route for wood waste managers and rubber waste managers’ products and entities a new environmental friendly product to public and private construction sector.
The use of these products will increase the carbon storage in buildings and replace other building materials which are less environmentally friendly towards carbon storage and emission, both in production processes and raw material use.

The recovered wood category to be utilised will be waste wood from households (furniture, doors, windows, floors, etc.). This material is chemically contaminated by glues, lacquers, paints and coatings but not by preservatives. After collection, the waste wood material will be chipped and processed in the form of chips without any prior biological, thermal or chemical treatment. This is an innovative approach since the removal of all these chemicals is difficult and time/ cost consuming.

Recovered rubber form tyres in the form of particles, free from other materials as wires, ropes, synthetic fibres, etc., will be utilised with recovered wood chips or sawn timber for the production of innovative composite products by thermal processes.

This project is in line with latest research in wood – rubber applications (Yang et al. 2004, Zhao et al. 2008).

WOODRUB spot project (Download)
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